Archive for January 2018

As we begin the new year, those of you who use Goodreads (my profile is here) will be setting your 2018 reading challenge. In 2017, I challenged myself to read 18 books and exceeded that goal by completing 22. This is my highest total in many years – perhaps ever (though I went through the Hardy Boys books like water when I was younger).

The Goodreads challenge has provided a helpful push to increase the time I spend reading. But it’s lacking something important – balance. I could satisfy the challenge by always making the safe, easy choice. A better challenge is one that encourages me to take chances, sample from different genres, and open my mind to new ideas.

Two years ago, after hearing about Modern Mrs. Darcy, Julie created the Doel Family Reading Challenge for us. Beyond just reading a certain number of books, we have categories that we need to satisfy to complete the family challenge.

In 2017, we added a Doel Family Watching Challenge as a companion to the reading challenge. Most of us spend quite a bit of time in front of the television or in a movie theater. But as with reading, we knew a balanced diet would not only be fun but also encourage us to take in new experiences.

The challenges themselves have evolved over the years. I’ve had a few folks ask me about them, so I figured it might be good to share. I’m including my own results from 2017 along with the scorecard for 2018 in case you or your family want to play along or use it for inspiration in developing your own version. Given how much time we all spend in our individual echo chambers, adding some variety to our media intake can only help us to understand perspectives beyond our own and with luck, make it easier to talk to each other.